Edge of Fate
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: The hand of fate has strayed. The fight between Naruto and Sasuke ends, with horrific consequences on both sides. Now, on the run from everyone and everything he's ever known, how will Naruto cope with exile? How will he survive? Dark! Narutoxharem! Character Death! Takes place before the Battle of the Valley of End
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Aaargh! I lost another story! I put it back up, but still! I refuse to move! Now, for your entertaiment, I present to you my latest and possibly greatest work! I should warn you, though, there will be EXTENSIVE character death in this story. Some may deserve it. Others...not so much. This story also breaks from canon on more than one occasion, something I'm known to do =D Anyway, be sure to enjoy my masterpiece, and I apologize in advance for any smidgeon of OOC you, dear reader, may encounter in this chapter. Now, let the reading begin!**

**Thankfully I've already backed this up in advance, hehehe...**

_"Loneliness? You don't know a damn thing about being lonely._

_~Uzumaki Naruto._

**Burn**

Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had finally come to blows.

He saw it as if through a fog; his mind registered that he was being struck, but he no longer felt the pain. He felt nothing. Nothing at all. His right arm hung at his side, pierced by a chidori. Useless. Sasuke really meant to kill him, he realized. Was killing him. Each blow brought his body closer to the breaking point; every strike caused his bones to crack. A pause, suddenly. A break in the never-ending tide of feet and fists. Naruto tried to raise his gaze, tried to find Sasuke, only to find his left eye swollen shut.

_Oi oi, this isn't going to end well..._

He could _just _make out his second teammate, Haruno Sakura, through the remaining eye; the pinkette registering as little more than a blur of pinkish red in his peripheal vision. She stood there on the sideline wringing her hands together. Whether in nervous anticipation or outright fear, Naruto knew not. He knew only that his body was breaking; that he couldn't take much more of this. Sasuke's anger lent him strength and power in the form, those eerie black marks. They crawled across his flesh even as Naruto looked on, wrapping Sasuke in that hideous chakra.

"Is that it, Naruto!" he demanded, driving a tatoooed foot into his opponent's gut. "I thought you were stronger than this!" Naruto grunted as the breath left his lungs for what must've been the tenth time that day and he was forced to admit it. Sasuke was _was_ stronger damnit! At the outset of their battle, he'd held his own! Hell, he'd even gained an advantage! So, why was he losing now? It must have something to do with those strange marks, he mused, wincing as another Knowing was one thing, however. Actually doing something about it, was something else entirely.

_There! _His remaining eye widened as Sasuke cocked his fist back and drove it forward. _An opening!_

He threw himself to the side, hands locking around Sasuke's wrists, even as the blow drove home.

Here, at the climax of their rooftop battle...

_...Sasuke was winning._

**"I expected better from you."**

Naruto didn't even bother to look up. He already knew where he was, rather, as the water soaked through the legs of his pants. He'd been here before, many months ago. Just as he knew who_-what-_had summoned him here to begin with. Even so, he raised his gaze, meeting the great gleaming eyes of his prisoner. The Kyuubi no Kitsune leered back at him from beyond the bars, its visage twisted in a grimace of hate and fury. He was too tired, too sore, too broken, _too everything_ to even attempt a rise out of his tenant. His shoulders slumped, the anger leaching from his features.

"What do you want, stupid fox?"

**"I want you to stop getting your ass kicked!" **Naruto didn't so much as blink as the kitsune roared out a reply of its own, bathing him in hot, fetid breath. During their first meeting he'd been terrified of the kitsune, all but quivering in fear. Now, he was too tired to care. It couldn't do shit behind those bars anyway...might as well answer it.

"You and me both."

**"You stupid kit!"**

Naruto's left eye twitched.

"I. Am. Not. Stupid."

Kyuubi grinned, a gorgeous white streak in the dark.

**"Release me, then!"**

_"Hell no!"_

**"Think about it!"** the fox goaded. **"With my chakra at your disposal, he'd be no match for you. No one would!" **Then as if to itself,** "And you'd actually be the right size for your age...**

"Don't even think about it!" Naruto exclaimed aghast, gawping at the fox. "This is my fight! And don't you go making changes to my body!"

**"Why should I care about your feelings?" **The fox growled.** "Why should I care about the girl, for that matter? I refuse to let you lose! Especially to an Uchiha!" **Growling in kind, Naruto pushed the beast back down to the depths of his mind, his self, back to the present...

...back to the pain.

"Had enough, loser?" Sasuke scoffed from where he stood.

With a wordless cry of rage and despair, Naruto's head snapped up.

_"Like hell!"_

Sasuke struck again. His fingers closed around Naruto's jacket, as he staggered back. He raised his hands in a feeble block, and again succeeded only in saving his life. The Uchiha's heel crackled across his chin, leaving a host of stars in its wake. Naruto felt his feet lift off the floor, and realized his peril. Not good! This was the beginning of Sasuke's _Shishi Rendan!_ He raised his hands to block, realizing too late his mistake. Sasuke was already there to greet him in the form of a powerful downward kick. Naruto felt his ribs crack; felt the pressure against his lungs as he slammed into the water tank, as he slid off its cold, unyielding surface. If he could just land on his feet- _Ground._ He landed on his shoulder, Sasuke's final blow driving a wedge into his chest.

Cold fury burned the world white.

Naruto tasted blood on his tongue; tasted it when he drew breath. Despite the pain, he lashed backward with his fist, desperate to prevent a knockout blow. He was rewarded by a grunt, and another attack, this one far more viscious than the last. This one, merficully, to the head. Naruto had time for one last thought before the blackness devoured him; before the red haze swallowed his vision. Laughter welled up from the very depths of his soul, encompassing all else

_Well, damn..._

**"Finally!"**

And then he was lost.

Naruto knelt crouched on the pavement, leaning against the dented wall. When he looked up his eyes blazed with hate...and deadly fire. _"Strike me again, Uchiha Sasuke."_ The words were little more than a growl laced with centuries of hatred. _"I won't be responsible for what happens if you do."_ Sasuke did just that; driving a chakra-coated heel into the blonde's face producing a hideous crack. The boy crumpled to the ground without so much as a whimper, flopping to the earth in a boneless heap. Sasuke moved in, chidori in hand, confident in his victory. Overconfident. Typical Uchiha.

"Responsible for what, dobe?" he challenged, shouting to be heard over the roare of the chidori. "As if you could ever-

Naruto smiled.

**"My turn."**

Sasuke flew.

_Literally_.

One minute his opponent lay prone before him. The next Naruto lashed out, his knuckles colliding with the Uchiha's face in a sharp report. Naruto stood over him, body bristling, hair standing on end. His whisker marks, once mere slits on either side of his face, were deep troughs of dark fur on his cheeks. And then his hands. Even as Sasuke looked on, clutching at his bloodied nose they sharpened, the fingernails extending outward in rapid fashion. Red chakra poured outward from his broken arm, rapidly closing the wound. Within three seconds, all that remained was smooth, soft skin. Within ten, he could see again. By the time twenty seconds had passed, all injuries, internal and external, simply ceased to be.

"Na-Naruto?" Sakura swallowed nervously.

"I-Impossible!" Sasuke pushed himself upright, clutching at his bloodied nose. "How can you-

An hearstopping hiss froze both in their tracks.

**"Why so serious**_**, Uchiha Sasuke?"**_ The voice was hollow, mocking, with a feral undercurrent that made the hairs on her neck stand on end. **"Surely," **Naruto's right hand rose up and red chakra coalesced around it, forming claws of fire that grew longer even as she watched.** "Surely you aren't afraid of _me?"_ **His grin grew wider still when the Uchiha refused to answer. **"Ara? You _are_ afraid of me, aren't you?"** His lips turned upward in an abrupt sneer as Sasuke's sharingan suddenly flared. **"Good. Be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID!"**

"W-What the hell are you! Monster!"

Kyuubi frowned.

**"Monster?** **Impudent whelp! I am no mere beast!" **He gestured with the claws of flame.** "Come! I'll show you the difference between us!"**

Sasuke surged forward.

Kyuubi shoved them at him with a contemptuous flick.

Sasuke hissed out an expletitve as his forehead kissed the concrete; shoving his body down closer to the floor. Scarce had he done so than he_-it-_stepped back forward, moving so effortlessly it appeared he was gliding. He stalked toward him, eyes smoldering with all the intensity of a caged beast. Sasuke struggled to rise, struggled to scrabble backwards, struggled to form hand signs, but it was all in vain.

**"I think I'm going to enjoy this."**

He held the fingers of his hand outstretched, cupped around nothingness. Then, with a whirling hiss, a vortex of spiraling energy manifested within his palm. Sasuke balked at sheer size of the rasengan; at the swirling sphere of vermillion energy and the wicked snarl that escaped Naruto's lips as he thrust it forward.

**"Rasengan."**

The strange sphere roared forward and tore against Sasuke's body. The attack had been too close for him to block, much less avoid; he had no choice but to take the impact directly to her chest. He flew back in agony as the dark wave ripped at his face and chest, his shirt smoldering away from his flesh. The blast seemed to last for aeons before blowing past him as gravity took over, his body spiraling towards the ground limply. He slammed into the soil with a pained gasp, his back arching in agony as his entire body spasmed in pain.

_Up! Damn you!_ he roared at his body, fuming as his limbs quivered from the strain. _Get uuuup!_

He groaned, made as if to rise, but before he could do so, both her hands were bound and he was upon her, straddling her for a terrifying instant. But only an instant. Abruptly, he stood, his knee driving the air from her lungs and the fight from her body, rendering her helpless for what came next.

His fingers closed around her throat in a hairsbreadth of a second, and then she was rising _rising,_ as he lifted her from the earth, and into the air. He held him there for a span of two beats, as if to make perfectly clear that he could snap his petty little neck, should he resist. When he did not, he inclined his head a fraction of an inch grinning.

**"Now, to finish you-**

"That's quite enough."

Both boys turned as one, regarding the one who had spoken, who had arrived via _shushin._ If the mask wasn't enough to identify him, the white shock of spiky hair certainly was. With a level of complacency found only in upper class Jounin, Kakashi Hatake observed the blazing blond and the brooding avenger. His evil orange book was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't smiling beneath the mask.

"Yare yare, you really made a mess of things...

Naruto's brows drew down into a scowl as dropped the Uchiha. **"Don't think I won't hesitate to crush you like the insect you are. Step aside, Hatake."**

"Naruto...no, you aren't Naruto, are you?" His lone eye drew down in a frown.

"Oh?"

Like an iron trap, Kakashi's gaze locked onto the biju's own. The sheer intensity of his stare, the sudden ice in his expression, was enough to silence the room. Nothing moved. Nothing at all. And then he spoke, voice black as pitch, eye cold as the coldest winter.

"I thought I recognized that chakra_...Kyuubi!"_

Sakura felt a frozen fist land in her gut. Kyuubi? As in the nine tailed fox? Naruto was actually its container?

"Naruto...he's lying, right?"

The blond threw his head back and laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound. Utterly devoid of humanity.

**_"How observant of you, Hatake!" _**

"You've broken the seal, haven't you?" Kakashi demanded to know. He was no match for this monster by himself,even weakened as it was within Naruto. Where on earth was Jiraiya-sama? If they didn't suppress him soon, the Kyuubi would surely destroy the village!

**"Have I?"** Kyuubi grinned a secretive grin, beckoning. **"Why don't you come over here and find out?"**

"I think not." Kakashi reached to his hitiate, unveiling his sharingan.

**"And what do you plan to do with that?"** Kyuubi challenged, eyes pulsating brightly. **"Would you kill your student simply for housing me?"**

"If it'll keep the peace, I'll do what I must."

Kyuubi scowled.

**"Just try it, you frustrated old virgin."**

Despite the temerity of the situation, Kakashi nearly fell over.

"H-How did you know that!"

**"I didn't."** Kyuubi grinned. **"But now I do!"**

Sakura stepped forward, breaking the impasse.

"S-Sensei, what-

_Shit!_

"The dobe started it!" Sasuke insisted.

Naruto smiled, and his eyes glowed brighter. "I'm afraid I'm not the 'dobe' you're used to_...fool."_ Naruto's whole body was glowing now. Sasuke took a step back. Kakashi watched, tense and unsure. Sakura just stared, her mouth slack, eyes wide. The kids had moved out into the street below, also staring. One of them dribbled a ball absently, nervously. Utterly unaware of the terror taking place above.

"Naruto," Kakashi sought to plead reason to the boy within. "You need to calm down! Regain control of yourself!"

Naruto sneered, his entire body pulsating with power. He reached down, plucked the necklace from his neck before it could suppress him, flung it to the ground.

**"Do you take me for a fool, Hatake Kakashi?"** If possible, his earsplitting grin only grew.** "I won't let you suppress me a second time. Though he'll never admit it, the brat actually wants this. I'm simply fufilling his wishes." **His chakra flared wildly, skyrocketing as the jounin and genin looked on. **"So, lets get on with it, shall we?"**

Kakashi strode forward, sudden alarm in his eyes.

"Sasuke! Sakura! Help me get these kids out of here!"

Sakura didn't even move, didn't even nod.

Once again, she felt like she was watching events, images, moving in a pre-recorded pattern on some high-def screen _Does any of this matter? _she wondered. _If it all goes wrong, if it doesn't follow the right script, can we just do another take? _She looked at Naruto, and felt an incomparable sense of dread. Gone was the boy who'd been her teammate. In his place was something else. A entity so massive, a killing intent so vicsious it froze her where she stood.

_Or is this the last, the only take?_

Naruto was a ball of fire now, only his glowing eyes were visible, searing into Sasuke's. Those eyes. Those eerie red eyes, that slitted, scintilating shade of scarlet. They weren't the eyes of a human. _Oh dear._ They were the eyes of a something else entirely. _They were the eyes of a monster. _Sasuke took a small step back. Then another. And another. Kyuubi grinned; his lips turning upward to expose sharpened canines, eyes narrowing as the boy scrabbled backward.

_Th-This can't be happening! No! I haven't had my revenge! I haven't killed Itachi yet!'_

**"You're playing with the big boys, Uchiha."** The jinchuuriki growled, his words a throaty hiss. **"Now, join your parents in the afterlife!"**

The energy flared out from him, consuming Sasuke first. The last Uchiha arched in pain, let out a silent scream, then dissolved into skeletal ash. The shockwave continued to spread outward, engulfing kunai, shinobi, village square. Kakashi, then the house, and the bodies sprawled in its backyard. Two hundred and fifty seven residents of konoha died that day. But the young kunoichi, Haruno Sakura, never knew that. As her body boiled into vapor, as her pink hair burned away from her scalp alongside the tattered red dress, her final thought was:

_I should've been nicer to him..._

**A/N: Hey-ho! The Uchiha is dead! As is Sakura! Such a shame about the others, though...I won't say who lives and who dies! Now this could just as easily have happened in canon, were Naruto to lose control, however briefly****. Push a thirteen year old boy to his limits. Deprieve him of any and all friendship. Scorn him, curse him, attempt to take his life on a regular basis. And then, to nearly be killed by your best friend? Definitely a spirit breaker. Kyuubi taking control was actually a novel idea, forcing Naruto's exile upon him for his own good. Orochimaru and his Sound Four might be gunning for him now alongside the Akatsuku...**

** I think I made it quite obvious that he'll be leaving Konoha for quite some time, thanks to Kyuubi's actions, so...**

**...let the harem begin! **

**VOTE!**

**Note: Tayuya is already in!**

**Translations:**

**Shishi Rendan= Lion Combo.**

**R&R! =D**


	2. An End and a Beginning

**A/N: Gasp! I've actually updated a story that has nothing to do with DBZ for once...right?! I've been on a bit of a craze in that regard, for some reason. Nevertheless, I vowed to update other fics instead of creating new ones, and I aim to make good on that promise. And on another note: WOW! I had no idea ya'll liked this story so much! If any of you are wondering about the story of mine which got deleted, I believe it was one of my newer ones that I'd published. It was one of my less favorite fics, and quite gory, so I won't be reposting it. Thankfully, most of my other works (including Passing the Torch) are now backed up. **

**And with that, enjoy this, the next chapter of Edge of Fate!**

_"Our Opinion May Differ, But Our Goals Are The Same."_

_~Pein._

**An End...and a Beginning**

Uzumaki Naruto strode through the broken streets of Konoha, but his eyes scarcely saw the damage, his ears barely registered the moans of the injured or the cries of mourning and despair. The smoke in the air came swirled around him, but his chakra held it at bay. The dirt of the alleys wafted over his sandals and rained back down to earth, unable to find enough purchase to stick. No one paid him any heed. No one noticed his eye the right of which pulsated a sinister shade of slitted scarlet. His mind was reeling, struggling to comprehend what'd just happened.

He'd killed them. Sasuke. Sakura. Kakashi-sensei. Obliterated them, in a burst of fire. He could hear the screams, of the wounded; keening wails of agony and lament, rising and falling in the distance. He needed to get away. Now. He had to run. Run, far far away as far as possible neverlookbackneverturnback-

**"This is what you wanted, isn't it?"**

Kyuubi's voice jarred him out of his own thoughts. _Violently._

_No!_ Naruto screamed his torment back at his tenant. _This isn't what I wanted at all!_

**"You wanted to win."**

_I wanted to beat him!_ Naruto shrieked furiously. _Not evaporate him and a quarter of the village!_

**"Well, what's done is done."** Smugness oozed from every word. **"We can't very well stay here now, can we?"**

Blue eyes bulged. He tried to speak, but the words dried up in his throat.

_"You sick fuck!"_ He threw his thoughts at the kitsune like kunai. _"You made me do this!"_

**"You were the one who wanted to be the best. Now you are."**

_"No you fucking don't!" _Naruto roared back._ "You don't get to push the blame off on me! Not this time!"_

**"Pah!" **The Nine-Tails snorted.** "The weakest dogs always bark the loudest! And whose weak without me? YOU!"**

Their internal arguement continued as Naruto stormed down the street, throwing himself against the crush of people, the throng of innocent bystanders, searching for their loved ones. Some sought safety. Others cried out for ninja. Still others stood stone still, dazed by the dust and the debris; the sudden destruction of their village having numbed them to all else. With each step, he left a piece of his heart behind. This was his village his home, his everything. And he was leaving it behind. Leaving everyone behind, everything he'd ever known...

"Somebody...help...

He faltered in midstep.

Yamanaka Ino lay at his feet, trapped by debris. Her head lolled at an awkward angle, bearing a savage slice across her cheek. Were it not for the irregular rise and fall of her chest he'd have thought her dead. But she was not dead. Almost before Naruto knew what his body was doing, he'd set himself to the task. Clawed hands made short work of the rubble, tossing massive chunks of concrete and plaster aside as though they were no more than mere pebbles. He winced at the sight of her legs; in all likelihood, she'd never walk again. She'd be lucky if she didn't bleed out internally. His heart ached at the thought; her life might be lost because of him. bUT there was nothing he could do. Tsunade might be able to save her. But that meant going back. And he couldn't go back.

Blue eyes the color of afternoon skies fluttered open, regarding him blearily.

"Naruto?"

He froze.

Her hand tugged at his loosely and her fingers fet like ice. Kami, she was so _pale._

"Where are you...going...?"

The boy flinched as though he'd been struck. He couldn't face them. Couldn't stand to see the accusation in thos crystal orbs. So he fled. He kept moving, his broken sandals slapping against the ground with a rhythmic slap-slap-slap as he dodged through the broken city streets. He no longer cared who saw him, who called out to him; because it no longer mattered. Kyuubi was right. He couldn't stay here, now. They were going to kill him for what he'd done. No, he couldn't be here. He had to run.

_Now._

Without so much as a backward glance, he crossed his fingers, summoning a pair of clones. One to fetch his belongings-assuming his apartment was still standing-another, to retrieve an important item he'd taken once before. A small part of him-what little remained lucid after killing his team-found the idea ironic; if he was going to be hunted, he might as well go out in style. It wouldn't hurt to have a few tricks up his sleeve, after all now would it? He was half-tempted to leave a third _bunshin_ with Ino, but his thoughts shied away from her guilty stare.

**"Time's a' wasting, kit!"** There could be no mistaking the irreverent glee in his tenant's tone. **"Let's get a move on!"**

Naruto lingered a moment longer. Staring at the dust-filled skies, listening to the heart-wrending cries. It felt like he was leaving a piece of his childood behind, buried beneath the wreckage. He seriously doubted they'd forgive him for what he'd done. Especially now, that he was "borrowing" the Scroll of Sealing for the second and final time. But what did it matter? He was already guilty in their eyes. Once they realized, what he'd done and guessed both what he might do with this newfound knowledge, they'd never leave him be. Just as he'd never let himself forget.

"Goodbye." He muttered, to no one in particular.

The dopplegangers dispatched, he bolted through the village gates and into the forest.

* * *

Orochimaru was speechless. His spies had reported back to him: Uchiha Sasuke was dead. An unfortunate loss. Under normal circumstances, such a setback would've let him seething for days. With Uchiha Sasuke now little more than a pile of ash, only his brother, Uchiha Itachi remained. Orochimaru knew better than to make a second attempt on those eyes. As it were he had already been inconvenienced by the loss of his arms; the sandaime's jutsu having forced him to take a new body earlier at the risk of his own life.

"Kabuto." He barked the word and the silver-haired assistant emerged from the shadows.

"Orochimaru-sama?"

"Send out the Sound Five." The Sharingan could wait. If Uzumaki Naruto could wreak such destruction, if he was now on the run from Konoha, this was the perfect opportunity. He might've have lost the Sharingan, but he'd gained the chance to snare a jinchuuriki instead. The boy would doubtlessly seek refuge somewhere safe; Wave Country, perhaps? It would be a simple matter for his elite guard to intercept him en route. Now, he just had to get there before Konoha's populace tore him to pieces...

He fought and failed to resist the urge of rubbing his hands together.

"Soon Naruto-kun, very soon...

* * *

Tsunade couldn't believe her eyes.

Becase Konoha was in shambles.

And the sky...the sky was filled with ash, a gray haze. The sun shone through weakly, casting no shadows, a dull red orb barely visible through the cloud of dust. When she reached the crater, she realized the true extent of the devastation. An area covering two-and-a-half city blocks had been totally flattened, reduced to ash and hard-packed dirst. Half a school building, half of the academy, stood at the edge of the blast zone. Its other half had been incinerated, fallen off into the dead hard ground of the crater itself.

She wanted to say something to her people. She _wanted_ to find the right words to console their grief before it turned to anger, she really did. But nothing would come. And so she was left in silence as she approached the lip of the crater, as she came to stand beside her old teammate.

Jiraiya.

"I thought I'd find you here." she whispered.

Her old teammate sat parked at the rim of bowl-like depression, unable to believe his eyes. The haze was thicker here, seeming to shroud the crater in an eerie midday twilight. She expected some sort of retort, some wtty comment, anything. Anything at all. But, nothing came. He too, was at a loss for words. Naruto had been his student. His godson. Reports were still piling in, but they had no way of knowing whether he was dead or alive. The body count was staggering, and most had been incinerated outright. Numbered among them were the members of Team Seven, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke...and Hatake Kakashi. To make matters still worse, the Rookie Nine were scattered by this tragedy.

Yamanaka Ino was in critical condition, and not expected to survive the night. Reports indicated someone had dug her out from under a building; the only reason she yet lived. Hyuuga Hinata, was nowhere to be found, though that was to be expected, given the level of destruction. The newly promoted Shikamaru alongside his remaining teammate, Akimichi Chouji,had been left to clear the debris alongside their parents. That left Kiba and the whole of the Inuzuka Clan with their noses to the ground in search of survivors. Gai's Team was likewise dispersed, although with Lee in the hospital and Tenten MIA it was ultimately left to Neji and the Hyuuga to search for any signs of who could've done this.

All in all, today was turning out to be one big clusterfuck.

"That wasn't chakra." When the sage finally spoke, there was an icy finality to his words. "Tsunade, I don't what could've done this but I'm telling you, whatever it was, that was _not_ chakra." His words merely confirmed her suspicionsbut she daren't voice them. Not yet. The poplulace was only just recovering. The _last_ thing she wanted to do was incite a panic. And there would be a panic. Once they realized the horror of what had been in their midst all this time, if they suspected that Naruto had survived...there would be a witch hunt. Not because of his jinchuuriki status, though most might assume it.

No, the truth was far worse.

"What do you suppose it was?" she ventured, wondering if Jiraiya knew the truth, as she did.

Jiraiya rolled his shoulders in a mute shrug and it took all she had not to heave a sigh of relief. The secret was safe. For now. But as she looked down at the destruction, as more and more deaths continued to pile upon her already burdenred conscience, the Godaime could no longer restrain her tears. She felt them trickle down her cheeks, smashing the facade of invulnerability she'd worked so very hard to build. For the first time she actually found herself hoping her godson was dead. Because if he wasn't...his life would never be the same. Tsunade chewed her lip, biting back a sob as Jiraiya lay a hand on her shoulder. She daren't speak the words aloud, but they were hers all the same in her heart.

_'Oh Naurto...what have you done?'_

**A/N: We've got a timeskip coming up next chapter! What will Naruto's fate be? Will the other jinchuuriki be involved? Will there be an epic harem inolving Fuu, Yugito, Tayuya and more?! Well the answers await you next chapter! And does anyone else find it strange that both Hinata and Tenten have gone missing...? Pairings are NOT decided yet so be sure to vote! Also, as to Tobi's true identity, seriously? WTF? And what oh what is this secret I am hinting out...NEXT TIME ON EDGE OF FATE!**

**Alright, I'm off to work now,so in the immortal words of Uzumaki Naruto...**

**...Review, Ya know?**

**R&R! =D**


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